October 3rd, 2:08am October 3rd, 2:08am Abhinav Pathak22, Game of Thrones geek, Passionate Fiction Writer and the author of ‘Gopalkant’s Wife’.
Arya Stark played by Maisie Williams in Game of Thrones since the first season has been my favorite character so far. The way she has developed as a character so far from a tomboy to a trained faceless assassin is exceptional. But, what’s next in line for her in the final season of Game of Thrones?
We will try to predict what her future in Game of Thrones is, but let’s first take a look into her past and her journey so far.
Arya Stark’s Journey so far:
Arya is first introduced in the series as a tomboy who wants to become a warrior like her father Eddard Stark. Where her sister Sansa Stark dreams of being a lady and marrying a high lord, Arya only dreams of going off to war and becoming a knight.
But, she doesn’t get to live life the way she wants. She tried to defend her friend Mycah from Joffrey and in the process her direwolf ‘Nymeria’ bit him off. Fearing for Nymeria’s life, she forced her to flee. Next, the queen Cersei Lannister blames her for this saying, “she is as wild as that animal of hers.” You can clearly see disgust and hatred on her face when Cersei orders the execution of Sansa’s direwolf ‘Lady’ in place of Nymeria.
Arya then adjusts to the reality and begins training with Syrio Forel, the dancing master from Braavos whom her father provides her. Tables again turn for Arya, when her father is betrayed and accused of treason by the new king Joffrey Baratheon and she has to run away from the Red Keep in order to save herself. Revenge becomes her new goal in life when she witnesses the horrific sight of her father’s execution.
Next, Yoren – a trustee of Eddard Stark plans to take her to Jon Snow and includes her amongst a group of Nights Watch recruits disguised as a boy named “Arry”. But, they all come across a group of Lannister soldiers and the survivors are taken back to Harrenhall.
Arya ends up serving Tywin Lannister, being his cupbearer and befriends Jaqen H’ghar – a faceless man. Upon spending some time serving Tywin, Jaqen frees Arya and her friends – Gendry and Hot Pie. He offers her to come along with him to Braavos to become a faceless person (he definitely sees something in her!) but Arya rejects his offer as she still hopes to get back to her family.
Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie remain traveling companions only for a short time as the three of them end up with the Brotherhood without Banners. Hot Pie leaves her after finding a job at an inn and Gendry is sold off to Melisandre. Disgusted Arya tries to run away and instead ends up with the Hound.
He plans on getting her to Robb Stark, but much to his surprise, Arya’s mother and elder brother are butchered at the ‘Red Wedding’. Arya too witnesses the terror the Freys have brought on her family. One thing that remains with her and helps her keep going is hatred just like the Hound’s hatred for his brother.
Arya now holds a kill-list of the people she is going to kill – “Cersei, Ilyn Payne, Joffrey, the Mountain, Walder Frey, the Hound, Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr, the Red Woman and others.”
The Hound and Arya get along well afterward becoming traveling companions. Meanwhile, Brienne of Tarth – who has vowed to protect both of Catelyn Stark’s daughters, tries to take away Arya to safety. This doesn’t end well. The Hound fights with Brienne and is badly injured. Arya leaves him to die and heads for Braavos in order to become a faceless person and to fulfill her ultimate goal of vengeance.
In Braavos, Arya seems to be in a rush and a bit too curious to take the names off her list. She kills Meryn Trant in the process and is blinded for breaking the rule of only killing people promised to the Many-faced God. She then undergoes vicious training while still blind, which she turns to her advantage.
When the Waif tries to kill her, she executes the former as she now has learned to fight in the dark. Arya then heads for Westeros – her home and her mentor Jaqen H’ghar too lets her leave. We are surprised when she emerges as a serving girl at the Twins and kills Walder Frey and his two sons.
In the seventh season, Arya wipes out the entire House Frey and is on a mission to kill Cersei Lannister. She then learns via Hot Pie that Jon Snow has retaken Winterfell from the Boltons and changes her mind and heads back to Winterfell. On her way, she meets her direwolf Nymeria.
At Winterfell, she meets her long-lost siblings Bran and Sansa. A bit of conflict arises between the Stark sisters because of a letter uncovered by Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish. But, as “a lone wolf dies but the pack survives” the three Stark siblings decide to take on Baelish for betraying their father Eddard Stark.
So, what’s next in line for Arya Stark?
We all saw the last scene shared by the Stark sisters where the two made peace and recalled their father. And we can’t wait for a number of reunions at Winterfell in the final season. Many people feel that Arya will finally complete her story arc by killing off the people remaining in her list.
Some even feel that she would fulfill her arc similar to Queen Nymeria of Dorne after whom she named her direwolf. She will reunite people of Westeros in a similar fashion to the Queen of Dorne after the Great War is over. Others feel that she will sail west of Westeros – her wish that she shared with Lady Crane back in season 6.
What I personally feel is that Arya has taken a dark path over the years all because of the trauma she suffered as a child. She has witnessed the deaths of her family members – her father, her mother, and her brother at quite a young age.
Eventually, she has become an assassin who has mercilessly killed people – the ones who have wronged her. The only thing that humanizes her at this point is her family – her pack which she lagged for years. She may be the one who kills Cersei Lannister or even a few others in Season 8 but ultimately she will be faced with a difficult choice.
The choice of either redeeming her old identity or the new one she has chosen in the recent years. And who knows she would even have to settle down like a lady or a queen after she cuts off all the names from her ‘kill-list’.
What do you think will be the future of Arya Stark in Game of Thrones? Tell us in the comments.
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